Eric Adams, New York City Mayor, is planning to remove the requirement that children younger than 5 years old wear face masks at school.
Adams said Tuesday that he would make masks optional in prekindergarten and daycare starting April 4, if the case rates and risk of the virus spreading are low.
Adams stated, “We want to see the faces of our babies,”
Officials from the city said that if trends continue to be strong, they would lift the mandate. They stated that case rates were just one factor in their analysis and didn’t specify any thresholds for positivity or other metrics they would consider reconsidering.
Two weeks ago, the Democratic mayor lifted many pandemic-related rules. These included the requirement that students aged 5 and over wear masks at school. For younger children not eligible for vaccination, the mayor left the rule in effect.
Adams recently reversed rules that required people to present proof of vaccination in order to eat at a restaurant, exercise at a gym, or attend any other event. This was in response to a sharp drop in coronavirus deaths and cases.
Adams has not yet resisted the temptation to repeal a rule that requires private employers to ensure workers are vaccinated. This rule was put in place to prevent Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets’ guard, from participating in home games. Irving is not currently vaccinated. He is allowed to attend home games as a spectator, but is not permitted to play in the locker room.
The rules apply to both the Yankees and Mets . This could lead to unvaccinated players missing games during the next season.
Adams would not say Tuesday if the rule was being lifted, but he said that he has been removing rules one by one to assess the impact of each change.
Adams stated that the sports teams must wait.
New York City’s infection rates have been increasing lately. They have increased by 50% in the past week. It now averages just over 950 new cases per daily, which is comparable to the daily average of early November before the omicron waves.
Ashwin Vasan, City Health Commissioner, says that cases have been increasing slightly in recent days. Officials will continue to monitor the trends over two weeks to decide whether to lift the ban.
Vasan stated that officials are monitoring the spread of a strain known as BA.2 of transmissible micron subvariant and anticipate some increasing cases.
Officials from the city say that if risk levels rise above their current low levels it is possible for them to impose new mandates.
